Voluntarily disconnecting from online platforms and avoiding the use of digital devices for a certain period of time, to reduce stress, improve quality of life and increase well-being: this constantly growing trend opens new opportunities for the tourism sector. In fact, more and more people are looking for another balance and vacations are the perfect time to find it.
According to the Global Wellness Institute, the global wellness market is expected to grow 9.9% annually, reaching seven trillion dollars in 2025. If after the pandemic people flocked to psychologists' consultations, they also began to look for alternative methods to reduce stress: regenerative baths in the forests, aromatherapy and sound therapy, hug therapy, laughter yoga or sensory deprivation sessions in floating shells to distance themselves from oneself.
When it comes to travel, the new trends – as emerged during the EcoLuxury 2023 Fair – speak of 44% more spiritual stays, 36% more experiential well-being and 40% more silent retreats. On the other hand, if so-called sleep tourism has already been consolidated, digital detoxification experiences are also increasingly widespread, with proposals designed to eliminate dependence on technological devices.
As explained by Dr. Anna Baeza, coordinator of Medical Services and Natural Therapies at SHA Wellness Clinic, a clinic that also offers services typical of a luxury resort in Alicante, “the pandemic caused widespread psychological discomfort and an increase in disorders such as anxiety, insomnia, depression, stress post-traumatic. At the same time, we had to make greater use of technologies, with other types of consequences at the level of mental health.” We are in the era that Traveler defines as the age of overstimulation, and many are looking for a moment of peace.
“We receive people between 40 and 60 years old, men and women, with a high social profile, generally executive directors and large businessmen. We have programs focused on specific objectives, and at the beginning of the stay, the patient is evaluated through a medical interview and a series of tests that make up our initial diagnosis. To see measurable results, the ideal would be to stay for about ten days,” explains Dr. Baeza.
Even without the medical focus of a clinic like SHA, this type of tourism is based on the need to find space and time to reconnect with the body and mind, through regenerative activities, such as yoga, tai chi or meditation, but also painting, writing and small crafts. The goal is to use the body to detoxify from mental stress and virtual fatigue.
Everything is usually designed by teams of experts who work within structures located in privileged landscape environments, where every detail is studied in a personalized way to offer a perfect wellness experience. Nor should it be surprising that all this is combined with a luxury vacation, in very exclusive and isolated destinations, since true luxury increasingly consists of being practically unattainable.
The options are many, in exotic places or much closer to home. The thirty private accommodations of the Explora luxury chain on Rapa Nui (Easter Island, Chile) are a true sanctuary of peace immersed in Darwinian nature. There is no internet or television in the rooms, but the structure offers a host of truly unique outdoor activities.
In Costa Rica, Lodge El Silencio seeks to slow down and eliminate unnecessary noise with dinners in the forest and a variety of treatments. There is no telephone, Wi-Fi, or television signal, entertainment is provided by the views of more than 200 hectares of jungle and activities such as coffee tasting, zip lines in the jungle, hikes or cooking classes.
In Europe, the historic Villa Stéphanie in the German city of Baden-Baden represents an oasis of tranquility where you can enjoy countless medical and thermal treatments. Each of the rooms has a switch next to the bed that turns off the Wi-Fi and all electronic devices, for a truly regenerating stay.
In Formentera, the Teranka hotel presents itself as “a bohemian refuge of well-being for creative minds and souls.” Under the name Essence of Flow, the retreats here flow with the energy of the island and offer different activities such as stargazing, sound and ice baths, but also cathartic breathing work with a hypnotherapist and life coach. In addition, the hotel has an extensive library of literature and various works of art to invite you to take your eyes off the screens.
In neighboring France, the Yobaba Lounge, located in the middle of a medieval village at the foot of the Pyrenees, is an Instagram-free area that has hosted vegan retreats since 2013. Silence is required at the facilities after eight-thirty the afternoon until noon the next day. However, for the most talkative, there is a softer formula that requires silence only from waking up to breakfast, at ten in the morning.
Also in France, within 300 hectares of private forest, approximately a 15-minute drive from the center of Tours, are the Loire Valley Lodges, 18 boutique houses located four meters high. All accommodations at this adults-only sanctuary feature a hot tub and terrace, but lack Wi-Fi and a TV. However, a radio is included for contacting staff and an iPad preloaded with a custom playlist. Of course, wellness activities abound, with a forest pool, massages and sound baths.
Los Lefay Resorts
Another Italian destination is L'Eremito, a luxury hermitage located in a reserve in the Umbria region, in the mountainous center of the country. Here the invitation to digital detox becomes an obligation for an experience based on meditation. The rooms do not have coverage and clients can hand in their smartphone at reception or leave it in a safe.
Finally, Logout Livenow is a group travel agency dedicated to digital detox to, they say, "completely disconnect, freeing you from the stress and frenzy of everyday life." Phones, computers or cameras are confiscated at the beginning of the trip and returned at the end. During the experience you can choose to participate in various workshops, such as cooking classes or working with clay to create something with your hands and develop creativity, but you can also practice kayaking, trekking, snorkeling, dolphin watching, yoga, meditation and. a digital well-being seminar. In order not to give up on memories, the agency provides a professional who takes photos and videos of the trip and delivers them to the participants at the end of the experience: there is no longer any excuse.
